The world of Mirror's Edge is a sterile one, both visually and for the purpose of the storyline. The game takes place in the not too distant future, where the police and the government have a greater amount of control than they do now, and for the most part, people go about their daily lives without any complaints. There are a group of people however, who call themselves Runners, who choose to live above the law. This group is known for feats most normal citizens would never attempt, such as jumping from rooftop to rooftop, using everything in their environment to their advantage, so that they can get messages across the city without the government getting their hands on it. Mirror's Edge chooses to focus on a small group of runners, and the game's protagonist Faith is among this small group. Along with her is her friend Celeste, and the man that helps get them from place to place, Merc.
While other reviewers were unable to find themselves engaged in the storyline, I personally was. I was invested in the whole story. Faith has a sister in the police force, who is framed for the murder of a high ranking official. It's up to Faith to do her best to try and clear her sister's name, no matter what the cost. The cops are on Faith's tail the whole time, and when the chase begins, it's an adrenaline pumping one. Knowing the police are just a few steps behind, ready to gun you down the first chance they get makes moving through the city environment very exhilarating. The whole game doesn't take place on just the rooftops, however. The storyline will have you jumping from rooftops, sliding down the side of buildings, running through a sewer system, and even jumping from train to train down in the subway.
All of Faith's acrobatic moves are controlled by the shoulder buttons. L1 (LB on XBox 360) controls “up” motions, such as jumping, vaulting over low objects, and pulling Faith up after she hangs from a ledge. L2 (LT on 360) controls all “down” motions, such as ducking, sliding, rolling, and dropping from ledges. R1 (RB on 360) is used for a quick 180 degree turn, while R2 (RT on 360) is used for combat, punching/kicking and so forth. The face buttons aren't totally useless however. Triangle (Y on 360) is used to disarm any enemies you may come across. Circle (B on 360) is used as a sort of in-game hint system. Pressing the button will turn Faith in the direction she needs to go. The only downside (or upside, depending on how you look at it) to this hint system is that if your objective is clear across the map, the button will point in that direction, it won't point you exactly where you need to go. Square (X on 360) acts as a sort of “bullet time,” slowing down time so that Faith is able to tell when she is able to disarm an enemy. Their gun will flash red, and that is your cue to hit the disarm button to, well...disarm them. The controls may take a bit getting used to, but once it clicks, it just all works.
Mirror's Edge also has a feature that it likes to call “Runner Vision.” Runner Vision is basically the game's way of showing you the way Faith herself interprets the world around her. The world itself is mostly cast in various hues of blue and white, but every now and again, a red object will stand out among the rest, and that's your cue to use the object to get to the next area. This feature makes it a bit easier to find your way around the huge cityscape, but it doesn't point exactly how to use it to your advantage. It's up to you to interpret what the game wants you to do with it.
One thing to keep in mind before picking this game up is that it all takes place from the first person perspective. If you normally get nauseous playing games like this, then Mirror's Edge will not help you out in any capacity. The developers smartly added a reticle in the middle of the screen that helps people by giving them something to focus on, so that they won't get that sickened feeling. The first person perspective is both a blessing and and a curse though, in the fact that it may make you sick, but at the same time it differentiates itself from other platforming-type games. IF you look down, you will see the majority of Faith's body, unlike most other first person games, and it helps make you feel more like you are the character of Faith. When she leaps, you can see her legs kick out in front of her. When she rolls, you see her body roll from her perspective. As she's sprinting around the world, you can hear her breathing become labored, and watch as her hands pump up and down realistically. The sense of immersion is pretty damn good. As with any other first person game, there is a bit of gun play to be found. However, while guns are available for you to use, the game encourages you to not use them. When you pick up a gun, Faith slows down considerably, and moves a bit more like a typical antagonist in a first person game. There's even an achievement/trophy for getting through the game without shooting a single enemy, which is a large pain in the butt, but for those challenge whores out there, it's worth it.
The graphics in Mirror's Edge, in my opinion, are quite good. The city looks like a city should, although obviously it's a bit more washed out than in real life, but that goes back to the game's visual style as a whole. As I mentioned back when I was talking about Runner Vision, the city surrounding Faith is a mixture of very light colors. Light blue, greens, and a lot of white cover pretty much every surface in the city. Now for some that might make the city look somewhat bland, but I believe that it gives Mirror's Edge it's own flair and helps separate the game from others visually. The few times you actually take time to notice Faith's character model, it is done very well. Even the movements of her body in relations to her head are realistic. As you look down and turn to one direction, her body doesn't rotate right away. When it looks as if Faith's head is turned as far as it will go without falling off, her body starts to turn in that direction.
The character models of others are somewhat hit and miss. I'll admit I didn't take too much time to analyze everything, but that's because for the most part, when I ran into other characters, they were more often than not trying to kill me. The cops look like what you'd expect, and they even have different levels of armaments in order to take on increasingly difficult troublemakers. There's even a group of police that are specially trained to chase after runners, and when they come after you, you don't have much choice but to run.
After the storyline is all said and done, it unlocks the majority of the time trial levels. These levels are taken from various spots in the single player levels, and it's up to you to race through a group of checkpoints to get to the finish in record timing. This mode also comes with ghosts, which help not only get you through the level faster, but they may show you things that you didn't even think about. The ghosts are not only records of your run-through of each level, there's also the option to download other people's ghosts as well, which will make you see the world in ways you might not have seen before. There are even online leaderboards for those that like to keep track of that sort of thing.
Overall, Mirror's Edge is a great experience that also leaves something to be desired. The basic idea of the game is solid, and definitely entertaining, but there are things that can be worked on for an inevitable sequel.
Grade:
B+
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